10 More Mind-Blowing, Skill-Building Raspberry Pi Projects

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10 More Mind-Blowing, Skill-Building Raspberry Pi Projects

Raspberry Pi, the credit-card sized, $35 Linux computer, has been on the market for under a year, but excited hackers are using the platform for dozens of new, cool projects and accessory products every month.
Since our last Raspberry Pi roundup we've found 10 more amazing projects that show how versatile this diminutive PCB is. From voice-activated coffeemakers to wall-hanging plotters, the Raspberry Pi is proving to be a fruitful addition to the maker's toolbox.
Above: Black Stripes V-Plotter
A design drone with a Raspberry Pi brain, developed to turn full-color photographs into huge black-and-white murals. It's an evolution of the popular "V-Plotter" style artbot; the on-board RPi turns bitmap data into vectors that can be drawn with a robotically controlled marker. While the frame and plotter have a distinct Home Depot vibe, the output of the Black Stripes drawing robot is gallery worthy.
The code for the project is closed source, but the team does accept commissions for murals starting at 149 euros (~$200).
Photos: Black Stripes

DeviantArt Picture Frame
Digital picture frames have a lot of potential, but aside from a few Instagram-themed efforts, they haven't kept pace with the amazing stuff being developed and shared on the internet. Hacker Cameron Wiebe thought there was room to reinvent this tired category and put a Raspberry Pi and his DeviantArt account to work.
Wiebe wrote a script that pulls images from DeviantArt.com, one of the most popular illustration communities on the web, onto his RPi and dynamically displays the artwork as a slideshow on a digital screen housed in a wall-mounted picture frame. The source code is available on his site and with a little tweaking, pop art lovers could customize it to gather only the finest homages to He-Man or portraits of Pokemon, depending on particular pop-culture preferences.
Illustration: ArtGerm/Deviant Art. Photo: Cameron Wiebe

Raspberry Pi "Beet Box"
A Raspberry Pi, an innovative UI, music, and puns – what more could one ask for in a project? Maker Scott Garner has developed a musical instrument that is as awesome as it is bizarre. Designed for the discriminating techie who loves hip hop and horticulture in equal measure, this instrument wires up real beets to the Raspberry Pi via a capacitive-touch sensor and turns each vegetable into a key to be played.
Beets and raspberries would make for a horrible smoothie, but prove to be a fantastic recipe for this tech/art mashup. The materials list is available on Garner's website and the plans are on GitHub.
Photos: Scott Garner

Voice-Activated Coffee Machine
Voice-activated garage door openers that combine Siri and Raspberry Pi are great for those who have homes with garages, but what of the public-transit urban dwellers? Without cars, their fuel of choice is coffee, and its "garage" is the coffeemaker. Sascha Wolter has modified his coffee machine with a Raspberry Pi, running Java, of course, to respond to voice cues from under-caffeinated creative types.
Voice commands awaken his Barista Bot, but sadly, the only options on this proof of concept so far are "on" and "off." Hopefully, an upgrade that unlocks soy lattes isn't far off. While not quite as cool as the Replicator from Star Trek, this demo shows the days of being able to bark "Earl Grey, hot" and have a fresh cup materialize before your eyes are not that far off.
Photo: Sascha Wolter

Raspberry Pi Medical Device Input Shield
Innovation in healthcare is happening at a rapid clip. Between funding sources like incubator Rock Health and open APIs from companies like Nike, there has never been a better time to serve hypochondriacs. However, it's still difficult for engineers to collect biometric data like blood pressure, galvanic skin response and respiration rates.
Enter Libelium, a Spanish wireless hardware manufacturer, that has created a Raspberry Pi/Arduino shield that gives health hackers easy access to these measurements.
This shield can collect data from a host of connected peripherals and transmit it to apps via ZigBee, WiFi, or hardwired connections. The resulting products can't be used in real healthcare settings, but this kind of tool could be incredibly helpful in rapidly prototyping new device ideas or testing out innovative concepts before dealing with the regulations the FDA and international authorities require.
Photo: Libelium

Pixelated Mario Brothers
This mod feels like something you might find if GameStop opened up a gift store in the lobby of the Guggenheim Museum. In reality, it's the collaboration between two members of a hackerspace who combined a DIY matrix of LED lights with custom software (called "Retina Tattoo") that can stream data to it through a network. Using a laptop running a NES emulator, data is fed to a Raspberry Pi, which sends it in real time to the light matrix, and ultimately lands in Bowser's castle.
The iconic 8-bit classic retains its visual charm, but will take some calibration for experienced players. Mario is now represented by just two pixels, a magenta block as the body and an orange box as a head. He still jumps through levels, but can easily meet his end by colliding with an abstract Koopa shell that would make Ad Reinhardt proud.
Photo: Kallaballa

RPi Media Center Case Mod
A relatively powerful and quiet microprocessor, Raspberry Pi's low cost and plug-and-play design make it a favorite of media-center modders. There are plentyofresources to help with the technical aspects of building an entertainment computer, but this Instructable explains how to turn a humble case mod into a glowy set-top box from the future. While we all wait for Apple to release its fabled TV, the Raspberry Pi's glowing geek icon will be the next best option.
Photo: Instructables

Raspberry Pi Light Show
The new Hue Wireless LED lights from Phillips are amazing and expensive. This project can help achieve similar effects using a Raspberry Pi and much more affordable "DMX" light fixtures.
"DMX" is shorthand for an ANSI standard called "Entertainment Technology—USITT DMX512-A—Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories."
DMX lighting setups are favorites of DJs and interior decorators. The lights are relatively affordable, but typically require large, expensive, specialized hardware to control. Until Mike Engeldinger, an engineer and lighting enthusiast figured out how to turn a $200 DMX controller device into just another app for the Raspberry Pi. Now Broadway-caliber lighting can be brought to the most humble of abodes.
Photo: Instructables

Rotary VOIP Phone
Smartphones are de rigueur these days so what's a geek to do to maintain their early adopter cred? Hack a rotary phone with a Raspberry Pi, of course.
Stuart Johnson, a hardware hacker from the UK bought a classic 1970's rotary phone and updated its innards with a new RPi board and upgraded software for VOIP calling. The phone replicates the classic shrill ring perfectly, and the fact that it looks just like the red phone in the BatCave only adds to its coolness.
Unfortunately, however, it yet can't make VOIP calls, yet. Johnson is waiting on special permission to use the Skype API for his project, has tried lesser known protocols with limited success, and invites like minded hackers to connect on his virtual switchboard.
Photo: Logic Ethos

Solar Raspberry Pi Power Pack
One of the nice things about a super cheap, versatile, and portable computer like the Raspberry Pi is that it can be used for projects in rough terrain. If a scientist wanted to build a mobile weather station or create a field-based motion sensor to track wild life migration, the RPi platform would be a great choice. The only trick would be power management.
This solar panel accessory gives the Raspberry Pi a power source that is off the grid and doesn't require someone to trudge into extreme environments for regular battery swaps. It's also a handy option for those interested in reducing their carbon footprint, or just looking to geek their projects out in every possible dimension. At £24.99 (~$40.00) this power pack can keep web based projects alive, even if Mayan predictions come to pass.
Photo: CNET UK